Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

Posted on: June 15, 2011 11:20 am

Edited on: June 15, 2011 11:34 am

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

On Tuesday, a new sense of optimism invaded the NFL world, especially after CBSSports.com’s own Mike Freeman reported that labor negotiations were 80-85 percent complete and that it would be difficult for either side to screw up the progress (naturally, I followed up with a post about how the talks COULD be screwed up).

Today, though, there have been tweets here and there dispelling some of the enthusiasm that a new CBA could be forthcoming soon (an example from NFL spokesman Greg Aiello: “As late, legendary George Young said: ‘There is no such thing as close. It’s either done or it isn’t.’”)

And now ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter is reporting that talks almost blew up Tuesday, and not surprisingly, the incident occurred after the lawyers were let back into the negotiations – ahem, that was No. 1 on my list of reasons that could derail the negotiations.

From Schefter:

How close it did (come to blowing up) is a matter of opinion. But what is factual is that the moment came shortly after lawyers from both sides were brought back into the process. As tensions rose and anger grew, two sources said NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith instructed his lawyers to "stand down."

With the lawyers removed from the direct negotiations, the process was said to get back on track and to a good spot. The incident is an example of just how tenuous these talks can be and how quickly they can be derailed.

But it also is the ultimate proof that (DeMaurice) Smith and his players, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners have taken the process out of the hands of the attorneys and demanded that they control it as the two sides try to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement.

If Tuesday was an overly-optimistic day, then today’s news is a bit of a slap in the face. But the two sides are talking – and really, since nobody is talking on the record, it’s hard to know exactly what is going on – and that’s always a good sign.

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Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

Of course the lawyers with disrupt any progress, they want this thing going on as long as possible so they keep getting paid.

Since: Oct 31, 2008

Posted on: June 15, 2011 12:53 pm

Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

Im tired of hearing about this crap..Im done with both sides. I hope the seasons get cancelled now. Itll save mw a ton of money, between fantasy, Bars on sundays, mondays, and thusdays, and a few games a year. Im just gonna use that money and go on a two week trip to Belize and a two week trip to Captiva Island..well be ok without Fuseball...

Since: Jun 25, 2009

Posted on: June 15, 2011 12:43 pm

Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

As far agreement goes - Kurt Warner said what EVERYONE WITH COMMON SENSE knows, and that is, the players are going to have to agree, because THEY CAN BE REPLACED. Owners are owners - they provide the money, the stadium, and everything else. All they would have to replace is the players, and last I checked, there are PLENTY of those around. The players are replaceable, the owners are not. So...do the easy math and you have to realize that what Kurt Warner said is what anyone with common sense already knows. That's why the players tried to seek unconstitutional legal means as a way to stop the Lockout. Once that was done, there was no hope. Players have to settle and take less than they want. End of Story.

Of course players can be replaced.... it happens every single season without exception. Players come and go,,, superstars and franchise players retire or take lesser roles... but the fans keep watching and keep paying because in the end the fans are huge supporters of their favourite team and not the players. The union has made it very clear to us the average NFL career is only around 4 years yet for some odd reason they want to make us believe the NFL can't survive without THESE PARTICULAR NFL PLAYERS.... odd, isn't it?

The union and the fans that support the players in this whole fiasco tell us nobody pays to watch the owners, they only care about the players. These people live in fantasy land.... a land of hypotheticals. They give us the "if these players don't come back I won't watch NFL football with replacement players" argument when in reality 90 percent would.... and what most of these people fail to understand is that after as little as one complete season 80 percent of today's NFL players would be crossing the picket line... anybody with a brain knows they wouldn't give up their career for any cause....

Finally what a lot of people with very little common sense and brain power don't understand is billionaires will always outlast the millionaires and most certainly will outlast players that aren't even financially set for life yet. The NFL ownership group consists of a minimum of 13 billionaires, none of which became a billionaire because of the NFL and none would suffer financially or be looking for a regular job if the NFL shut down and never came back in our lifetime. The rest of the owners are worth for the most part hundreds of millions and once again don't need the NFL to survive... the players need the NFL to survive....

Good news for us... they will settle and I have no doubt we will have at the least, a shortened season.

If they settle and an agreement is signed in the next 2 weeks or so I doubt very much we'll miss any games this year. Hopefully the union or trade association or whatever they call themselves these days stays on course and gives in... hopefully they realize they are in a no win situation here and will never overpower the owners. If there was any chance at all the owners could realistically lose in court long term the owners would have cut their losses long ago and signed whatever deal the union wanted knowing how much more it would cost them if they lose in court.. but they knew exactly what would happen.... they knew the players would win round 1 and the owners would win the appeal.... the owners know they can't lose in the long run and the players are finally figuring it out themselves..... if 2 more months goes by without a deal at least half the season would be cancelled.. anything beyond that all of it would be cancelled. Players can't afford for that to happen....

Since: Jun 15, 2011

Posted on: June 15, 2011 12:40 pm

Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

What's the difference between a lawyer and a carp?......................One's a scum sucking bottom feeder and the other one is a fish!!

Since: Apr 24, 2011

Posted on: June 15, 2011 12:39 pm

Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

Lawyers just want money, well who doesn't?

As long as they keep the lawyers out and lock the door I have no doubt that a new CBA will be established in the next couple of days. Momentum is strong and when they made so much great progress yesterday, it should carry on to today and the next couple of days.

Since: Jan 14, 2010

Posted on: June 15, 2011 12:30 pm

Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

How do you know a lawyer is lying...................his/her lips are moving.

Since: Oct 28, 2008

Posted on: June 15, 2011 12:30 pm

Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

Of course, it is the in the lawyers best interest to drag things on. Once a CBA is reached then the demand on their time (how they make money) is reduced.

Since: Jun 15, 2008

Posted on: June 15, 2011 12:28 pm

This comment has been removed.

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Since: Oct 6, 2008

Posted on: June 15, 2011 12:17 pm

Report: CBA talks almost blew up Tuesday

Lawyers are the lowes form of life on Earth. The only good lawyer is a dead laywer.